Just when you thought this week couldn’t get any awesomer, after a half ironman race report and an inspirational story about my friend’s battle with cancer, I am about to bring you something I think is incredibly exciting. Make sure you make it to the bottom, because I have my first blog giveaway to announce!

Last week I got an email from a woman who worked for the Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runner’s Month campaign. She said that, in honor National Runner’s Month, Dick’s Sporting Goods is celebrating running and the running community with the support of some of their running ambassadors, one of whom is the unbelievably amazing Dean Karnazes. She then asked if I would be interested in interviewing Mr. Karnazes for my blog.

After I ran around the house, jumped up and down a few times in excitement, and deleted my first response to her (which was typed in all capital letters and had 852 exclamation points), I composed my second and more calm attempt to inform her that yes, I would be beyond honored to interview Mr. Karnazes for my blog.

Uhm. Yes. Please. Greatest. News. Ever. Okay. Thanks!

I am a huge fan of Dean’s, and love his books. Do you remember the icing technique post I did recently? Well, here is one of the reject photos I took for that post but did not use.

I am sorry that I felt the need to show you a picture of my foot to prove to you that I am a big Dean Karnazes fan…but I did.

For those of you who know who Dean Karnazes is, you understand my excitement. For those of you non-crazy-runner types out there, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. But, let me tell you that you are about to have your mind blown.

To help explain to you how amazing and inspiring Dean is, I narrowed down the hundreds of amazing things he has accomplished into twenty (not in any particular order).

Twenty reasons Dean Karnazes is Amazing/Inspiring/Not Human
1. He recently completed an amazing 3,000 mile journey to run across the U.S. in 75 days as part of “Regis and Kelly’s Run Across America with Dean Karnazes.”

2. He ran 50 marathons in all 50 U.S. states…in 50 consecutive days. His last was the NYC Marathon, which he ran in 3 hours and 30 seconds. (Uhm, crazy!)

3. His book, Ultramarathon Man, was the #7 bestselling sports book worldwide in 2005.

4. He eats crazy things on his runs…like a whole pizza that he had delivered to a street corner in the middle of the night.

5. He speaks to schools and youth groups and travels the world to promote the benefits of physical exercise and a healthy diet.

6. He was named one of GQ’s “Amazing bodies of 2004” (Let’s be honest, a lot of distance runners would not be eligible for this because…uhm, well, they’re super skinny!).

8. He was listed as number 27 on Time Magazine’s poll of the top 100 most influential people.

9. His longest run is 350 miles. (I don’t even know how this is possible…)

10. He has run the 125-mile Death Valley ultramarathon in 120-degree temperatures.

11. He doesn’t just run: Dean swam across the San Francisco Bay, climbed Half Dome in Yosemite, mountain-biked for 24 hours straight, surfed the gigantic waves of the coast of Hawaii, and is an accomplished wind surfer.

12. He ran a marathon in the South Pole in negative 40 degrees.

13. He received an ESPN ESPY Award for “Best Outdoor Athlete” in 2006.

14. He has won “the world’s toughest footrace”: the Badwater Ultramarathon.

15. He has an adorable family–a wife and two kids that live with him in San Francisco.

16. He has raised over $1.5 million for children’s charities.

17. Despite a successful running career in junior high and his first year of high school, Dean stopped running at 15 years old, and didn’t run again until his 30th birthday, when he stumbled out the door, intoxicated, in his underwear and lawn-mowing tennis shoes…and ran for 7 hours and covered 30 miles. And he’s been running like a crazy person every since! (This is amazing and hilarious to me! You have to read the story to get the full effect:)

20. He is such a generous guy that he has agreed to give one of you lucky readers a copy of his NEW BOOK!!

That’s right, one of you can win a copy if Dean’s new book RUN!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss. I will have more ways to win in the interview post, but today I am going to give my loyal readers a chance to get a head start!;)

I have some ideas of what I, want to ask Dean about, but I want to know what you would ask Dean if you could? What would you ask this man who has done so many amazing and inspirational things?

So, check out the Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runner’s Month web site, Dean’s web site, Dean’s Facebook page, etc., if you’d like to learn more about him. And leave a question (or two, or three) in the comment section. Please, no “what’s your favorite color?” type questions;). You will get one entry for submitting a question (one entry max), and if I choose to ask him one of your questions, you will get five extra entries!

You can submit questions until Friday at 9:00 am EST. But check back for the interview (as if you weren’t planning on it already;), because I’ll be explaining more ways for you to enter and win! The drawing will be done using random.org late next week (exact date will be announced with the interview post).

23 Responses to What Would You Ask Dean Karnazes? + Giveaway

Um…coolest thing ever! I would love to ask him about fueling. When you do those kinds of races and track that much mileage, how does he stay fueled? And what is his favorite food to indulge in post run?

I know! I’m freakin out!! Great questions! Especially the last one. I know he eats a VERY clean diet (except for his mid-running fuel…because he says you can’t get enough calories in clean food to maintain the kind of running he does), but I wonder if he indulges post run, too!

Haha yeah I think I might have to retire from blogging after this because there’s nowhere to go but down;). Great questions! The recovery is going well! My muscle soreness is actually completely gone (except for maybe the tiniest bit in my quads), but I haven’t run on my foot again yet, and am not sure what’s going to happen with that. Trying to give it some more time off in hopes that will heal it the rest of the way!

Good question! Although if you read his books you get a pretty good insight into what goes on in his brain…at least for some of it! When you run 355 miles I would think you’d eventually run out of stuff to think about! He did say he dictated his most recent book (the giveaway book!) while he was running! Way to multi-task!

I would like to know where his “end” is. I have been programmed to think “good better best, never let it rest, until the good is better and the better is best” but what is best? I am curious what he would see as his ultimate accomplishment.

This guy is truly amazing…he seems like a super hero. I checked out his official web site. I read what he said in an interview with the Heath & Fitness Network. I don’t have a question for him but, I do like the words he lives by: “Follow your heart & you will never lose your way” & “To thy own self be true.” Both are things we should all strive for. In addition, I also admire the way he is so dedicated to kids charities, especially kids who are obese. I can’t wait to see how your interview goes!! Good luck. 😀